Good luck, everybody

inauguration day thoughts + freelancing + books and a whole lot of miscellany

I watched the inauguration today because as a journalist, I felt it was my duty. I was not surprised by anything said during the many speeches. Horrified would be the better word. Disappointed is another good word.

I don’t think it’s accurate to say “We are in for a bumpy ride” for the next four years because I don’t know where y’all been, but this ride been bumpy for people who look like me.

Now, the brakes are off, they have removed the safey belts and harnesses, and they are still running it at full speed — backwards.

Good luck, everybody.

freelancing

The “free” in freelancing could probably be a double entendre. While there is freedom in not being anyone’s employee, it can often feel like you are working for free because some of these media outlets refuse to pay on time, and I don’t know about y’all, but I can’t pay my rent or any of my other bills on a Net 30 schedule, so I’m wondering why in 2025 this is still a thing when paying me for writing you make money from as soon as it’s posted but I have to wait for remuneration.

It’s the cycle of life for a freelancer. We live paycheck-to-paycheck, and it’s not the kind of paycheck-to-paycheck that happens on specific, designated days throughout the month. It’s whenever these corporate accounts payable departments decide to handle our payouts.

I’m not about to call anyone out — yet, but I’m sick of the bullshit, so maybe it will happen soon.

In the meantime, if you want to make me feel better, feel free to become a paid subscriber to this here blog, or if you don’t want to give money to Substack (they take their share of my subscription money), you can Venmo me (@ thejournalista) or CashApp me ($thejournalista).

rip to this hood icon. iykyk...

reading is fundamental

I borrowed Parable of the Sower on Libby, and I was in the process of reading it when all the fire stuff happened, and then I jumped into another book that I read in one day, and I went back to Parable, but I didn’t finish it fast enough, and when I woke up this morning, Libby had snatched her shit back like ‘AHT AHT AHT.’

I’m back in the queue to get it again, but at this point, I’m probably going to have to dig through boxes and find my physical copies so I can finish reading the series.

The waiting list for that series is so long on Libby, that it will likely be another two months before it comes around to me again.

I’ve been updating my “want to read” list on Goodreads based on what shows up in the email Bookbub sends me every day, and that TBR (to be read) is getting longer and longer. This makes me happy.

It’s as if I am Henry Bemis (as played by Burgess Meredith) in the “Time Enough At Last” episode of The Twilight Zone. I just can’t get enough of books and reading.

I’ve been reading more than anything else lately. I can’t tell you the last time I turned on my PlayStation, and watching things on television happens mostly in spurts — although if something catches my attention enough, I’ll have it turned on while doing other things on my computer.

I’ve always been a bookworm, though.

Please tell me what good books you read or any good ones you think I should read. I’m open to adding to my ever-growing list of books to read.

Miscellany

• “As a reminder, my comment section is my house, and I don't allow redecorating” is a bar I found on LinkedIn. I will be using this as soon as possible.

• ContrabandCamp launched today. You should go read the first post right now. Stay tuned. You may see writing from someone else you know real soon.

• Super Socco walked so Snapple could run. If you know, you know.

  • This might be very LA-specific for many reasons.

• As Alexandria Marrow explains, letting go can save us.

• I binged American Primeval on Netflix this weekend. It was an excellent watch, and it left me wanting to research the Mountain Meadows Massacre, the Baker-Fancher party, and the growth of the Mormon Church in America.

  • It was cool seeing places mentioned in Oregon Trail as “characters” in the series. It made me want to fire up the online version again and play some more.

• Based on a recommendation from the Thelma to my Louise, I made the Zatarain’s jambalaya the other night with andouille sausage.

  • It was delicious, but if I ever make it again, I’ll likely do it from scratch and add vegetables.

  • Tonight, I made red beans and rice with sausage and a smoked turkey leg. It was fucking fantastic. Everyone who tasted said it was great!

  • When the red beans are gone, I’m going to make lasagna soup.

• I watched that Diddy documentary that’s on Peacock tonight while eating dinner. I have some thoughts.

  • Shout out to the homegirl Jasmine Simpkins for her appearance in it.

  • Gene Deal has a lot of stories to tell, and he said he’s been telling these stories since 1997. Production asked him if there is a target on his back, and he gave some wordy answer about God and bla bla bla, but I want to know. Is there a target on his back? Cause he is a chatty Kathy. I’m not saying he shouldn’t be out here speaking his truth, but since everyone else either tried to circumlocute their way around answering the questions that were asked of them — many seemingly in fear for their safety, why does Gene feel invincible? Maybe he has an ace in the hole?

  • It’s obvious Sean Combs has/had a lot of enablers around him.

  • There is something very dark happening inside of that man.

• I see that photo of Martin Luther King Jr shooting pool floating around, and people are identifying a man in the background as being a young Samuel L. Jackson, and since we are in the age of not fact-checking a gotdamn thing, I feel it’s my duty to inform you that the man in question is not our favorite mutha fucka — and that’s according to said muthfa fucka himself. There’s also a Snopes article about it.

• Can we talk about the simple pleasure I get from cleaning the kitchen every night before bed? Am I the only one who gets a sense of peace and joy from it?

• My schedule is pretty booked this week again, but I’m making time for the things that make me happy.

That’s all for this dispatch. See y’all next time.